Christopher Ferguson
| death_date = | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_place = | occupation = Test pilot | rank = Captain, USN | selection = 1998 NASA Group | space_time = 40d 10h 03m | missions = STS-115, STS-126, STS-135 | insignia = }} Christopher J. Ferguson (born September 1, 1961) is a retired United States Navy Captain and NASA astronaut. He was the pilot of [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle Atlantis]] on his first mission to space, STS-115, which launched on September 9, 2006 and returned to Earth on September 21, 2006. He then commanded STS-126 aboard . In 2011, he was assigned as commander of STS-135, which was the final mission of the space shuttle program. On December 9, 2011, he retired from NASA and is now currently director of Crew and Mission Operations for Boeing's Commercial Crew Program. Biography Education Chris Ferguson was born September 1, 1961, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Archbishop Ryan High School, from which he graduated in 1979. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University in 1984, and earned his Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1991. Military career Chris was commissioned from the Navy ROTC program at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Naval Aviator wings in NAS Kingsville, Texas in 1986 and was ordered to the F-14 Tomcat training squadron in Virginia Beach, Virginia. After a brief period of instruction, he joined the ‘Red Rippers’ of VF-11 deploying to the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean on board the aircraft carrier . While with VF-11, he also attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). He was selected for the United States Naval Test Pilot School program in 1989 and graduated in 1992. Through June 1994 he was assigned to the Weapons Branch of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland where he served as the project officer for the F-14D weapon separation program, becoming the first pilot to release several types of air-to-ground weapons from the Tomcat. He served one year as an instructor at the Naval Test Pilot School before joining the ‘Checkmates’ of VF-211 in 1995 and completing a deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf in defense of the Iraqi no-fly zone on board . He briefly served as an F-14 logistics officer for the Atlantic Fleet prior to his selection to the space program. NASA career Chris served as CAPCOM for the STS-118 mission. He also served as CAPCOM for the STS-128 and STS-129 missions. File:STS129 Chris Ferguson CAPCOM.jpg|Ferguson as CAPCOM for STS-129 Post-NASA career Chris currently works for Boeing as director of Crew and Mission Operations for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. Personal life Chris, who is of Scottish and Polish descent, is married to Sandra and has three children. When he was in space for his wedding anniversary, NASA played the Frankie Valli song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as the wake-up music that morning, after which Chris wished his wife a happy anniversary.http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-126/mp3/fd10.mp3 See also * * * References External links * Audio interview with Captain, USN Christopher Ferguson * NASA biography * Spacefacts biography of Christopher Ferguson Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:American astronauts Category:United States Navy astronauts Category:NASA civilian astronauts Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Drexel University alumni Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni Category:United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni Category:United States Navy officers Category:United States Naval Aviators Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Category:Recipients of the Air Medal Category:American people of Polish descent